Flying to Malta with a dog
Malta sends a vet to meet your flight. That only happens if you told them you were coming, and the notification is the step almost nobody knows about.
The one that catches people out
The Pets Arrival Notification
Most people arrive knowing about the microchip, the rabies vaccination and the tapeworm tablet. Malta has a fourth step: an online Pets Arrival Notification, filed before you travel. It applies to you whether you're flying in from Dublin or from Dubai. Malta's own page says it's for "any pet owner" and covers both commercial and non-commercial movement. Without it your dog can be refused entry, sent back to where it flew from, or held in quarantine. It's not a fee and it's not a permit, it's a form, and it's the reason a government vet is standing there when you land.
Still checking: Malta doesn't publish how far ahead you have to file it. The current portal page states no lead time at all, and older official guidance said at least three working days. So file it as soon as you've booked rather than the night before. We've asked the imports line, +356 2165 0393, and will put the confirmed answer here.
Everything you need, in order
Working forwards from the first vet visit to the moment you land. Miss one and the rest of them don’t save you.
- 1
Before anything else
Microchip, fitted before the rabies vaccination
The order matters more than the dates. A rabies vaccination given before the chip went in doesn't count, and the vet has to redo it.
- 2
At least 21 days before you fly
Rabies vaccination, then the wait
Counted from the completion of the primary vaccination course, not from the date you book. A booster given after the previous one expired counts as a new primary vaccination, so the 21 days start again. Under EU Regulation 2026/131, which replaced 576/2013 in April 2026.
- 3
Within 10 days of arrival, if you're coming from outside the EU
EU health certificate from an official vet
Coming from another EU country you travel on the EU pet passport instead, and there's no 10-day clock.
- 4
24 to 120 hours before you land
Tapeworm tablet, given by a vet
Malta is one of only five places in Europe that require this, with Ireland, Finland, Norway and the UK. The vet writes the date and the time into the passport or certificate. Too early or too late and it doesn't count.
- 5
As soon as you've booked
File the Pets Arrival Notification online
Through the government portal. This is the step that gets a vet to your flight, and the step that gets your dog refused if you skip it. Print the confirmation and carry it. Malta doesn't state a deadline, so don't leave it late.
- 6
On the day
Fly into Malta International at Luqa
It's the only airport in Malta that can clear a dog, which makes this an easy one to get right.
- 7
On arrival
A vet meets the flight
They inspect your dog and check the documents, because you gave notice. If your flight is delayed, call or text +356 9917 0532 at any hour.
Who’ll take your dog to Malta
Airlines we’ve checked that carry a dog in the cabin, by where you’re starting from. Open a route for the fees, the weight limits and the current flights.
- DUB → MLANothing direct. One stop via ORY with Transavia.
- LHR → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- CDG → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- ATH → MLADirect with Aegean Airlines, KM Malta Airlines.
- FCO → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- MXP → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- BCN → MLADirect with Vueling. Up to 10kg including the carrier, €25–€80.
- MAD → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- AMS → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- BRU → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- ZRH → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- VIE → MLADirect with KM Malta Airlines. Up to 8kg including the carrier, €35–€100.
- FRA → MLANothing direct. One stop via VCE with Lufthansa.
- LIS → MLANothing direct. One stop via BCN with Vueling.
What happens when you land
Malta sends a vet to meet your flight, but only if you filed the online Pets Arrival Notification first, and without it your dog can be refused entry. Submit it through the government portal before you travel and land at Luqa. Dogs also need a tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before arrival. If your flight is delayed, call or text +356 9917 0532 any time. Carry the original EU health certificate, chip and rabies records with the tapeworm entry.
- Where you can land
- MLA
- Who checks the dog
- A vet meets the flight to inspect the dog and verify documents, because notice was given.
- Out of hours
- If the flight is delayed, call or text +356 9917 0532 any time.
- Who to call
- +356 9917 0532 (delays), +356 2165 0393 / 2165 3013 (imports)
Book on the airline’s own site. Always.
Your dog has to be added to the booking and confirmed against a limit that applies per flight, not per aircraft, and a third-party seller generally can’t do either of those things. People book somewhere cheaper, find there’s no way to add the dog, and end up trying to change a ticket the airline never sold them. When a flight is cancelled or a connection goes, you want to be talking to the airline, not to a reseller who is talking to the airline on your behalf.
We don’t sell flights, and we don’t want to. Every link we give you goes to the airline.
Where this comes from
- The Pets Arrival Notification, official source, read 2026-09-13.
- Malta entry requirements, official source, read 2026-09-10.
Rules change without much warning. Check the official page before you fly, and if you find something out of date, tell Daisy.